He looks away. “We’re way out of our league here. You don’t realize it yet.”
“Weren’t River and Josh out of their league when they took down Las Vegas? We’re raising an army to take down this city.”
“Until it gets here—”
“If you don’t think that Dino is moving things at the speed of light with both you and me captives, then you don’t know him at all.”
He manages a small smile. “Yeah, he likes you.”
“But he loves you.”
“He doesn’t.”
“It was never just about Josh. Not when you were kids, and not now.”
Caden shakes his head, but there’s gratitude in his eyes. “It doesn’t matter now.” He pulls me closer, placing his forehead against mine. “I’m not sure how much of me is left.”
Despite the hot water, my skin turns cold. “You’re still you.”
“There are times… when his hold on me gets stronger, that I’m not sure if I’m thinking my own thoughts. He’s already inside my head like a damn parasite, and I’ve no idea how much he can control.”
I don’t dare to estimate, since I know very little of Hector’s powers. I can’t imagine losing control over my own thoughts and not knowing if somebody else is controlling my actions. “Wehave to play his games and buy ourselves more time until we get help. I can’t think of any other way.”
He nods, his expression thoughtful. “Earlier, when he gave me more of his fucking gift, he seemed weak for a minute there. He might be reaching his limit.”
I like the sound of that. “That’s good. We should head over to the living room before he gets angry.”
Caden turns off the water. “He doesn’t get angry; he just punishes.”
*
“Right in time for dinner!” Hector calls when we enter the kitchen. “You two catch up?”
“Yes,” Caden says stiffly. “Thanks for keeping him safe.”
“Well, Finn is quite lovely company, and I want to keep my future champion happy. Sit down, you two. All the fucking must have made you hungry.”
I keep my expression natural and sit at the table, where three plates and glasses of water are already set up. Caden sits in front of me, his shoulders tense.
“I’m making Caden’s favorite steak,” Hector says. “Got to keep him well fed with how much he’s been practicing.”
I stop myself from commenting that it seems more like torture than training.
“I tried a different sauce for the potatoes this time.” He comes over with red sauce on his finger, holding it in front of Caden’s mouth. “Taste.”
Caden hesitates before opening his mouth to suck on Hector’s finger. It pains me to see this submissiveness that is so unlike him.
“Well?” Hector asks.
“Missing salt.”
“I thought the same.” He returns to the kitchen and casually asks, “So, what did you two fuck about? I mean, talk about.”
I take a breath and say, “We did some catching up. I told him how I ended up in the arena.”
“Oh, that’s quite the story! Finn is brave to make it all this way to find you, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” He sounds like he’d rather use the wordfoolishinstead of brave, but I don’t care.
